Marshal faces possible perjury charge

Daniel Tepfer

Updated 11:24 pm, Wednesday, April 24, 2013

State Marshal Charles Valentino is sworn in before giving testimony in the Lopez v. Vallas civil hearing in Superior Court on Main Street in Bridgeport on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

BRIDGEPORT -- One day after winning praises for nabbing deadbeat dad Wayne Winston after a nearly yearlong search, state Marshal Charles Valentino was facing possible arrest for statements he made on the witness stand Wednesday in a civil case involving city Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas.

"I have never had this happen in a case I have been involved with," said Norman Pattis, attorney for the plaintiffs, after Valentino, on Pattis' advice, asked to consult with a lawyer before testifying further. Pattis then urged state Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis to notify the state's attorney for possible criminal action against Valentino.

The issue involved whether Valentino had delivered notice of the lawsuit to the state.

As a result of Valentino's testimony, the judge dismissed the portion of the case against state Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor, who was also a defendant in the lawsuit.

The case was continued to June 3.

Bridgeport activist and retired Superior Court Judge Carmen Lopez and school parent Deborah Reyes-Williams had sued the Board of Education and the state commissioner, claiming Vallas, who was initially appointed by the state to be city school superintendent, is not qualified or certified to serve as schools chief.

A hearing on the suit was set to be heard Wednesday by Bellis. However, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Shapiro asked the judge to dismiss the case against the state commissioner because he wasn't properly served with notice of the lawsuit.

By state law, defendants must be served either in person or by registered mail.

Called to the witness stand by Pattis, who had hired him to serve the state, Valentino described how he had gone to the state Attorney General's Office on April 5, taken an elevator to the seventh floor where he signed in, and then handed a copy of the lawsuit to an employee of the office who accepted the service.

"And you are sure you went to 55 Elm St. in Hartford, took an elevator to the seventh floor and made personal service?" Pattis asked him.

"Yes," Valentino responded.

Shapiro then presented the envelope Valentino had used to send the suit by regular mail to the Attorney General's Office, along with a copy of the office sign-in log book that did not show Valentino's name.

He also submitted affidavits from employees stating they had received the lawsuit in the mail.

"Would you like to consult with a lawyer before you testify further?" Pattis asked Valentino.

"Yes I would," he responded before getting off the witness stand and walking out of the courtroom.